Essex County and several local municipalities will receive up to $105.8 million in federal and provincial funding to support housing-enabling infrastructure in exchange for reducing or eliminating development charges for new homes. The funding was announced Friday in LaSalle through the Development Charge Reduction Program, which aims to lower the upfront cost of building homes while helping municipalities pay for the roads, sewers, and other infrastructure needed to accommodate growth. The province estimates the development charge reductions could lower the cost of building a new home in Essex County by up to $40,862, depending on the municipality. When combined with separate harmonized sales tax relief on eligible new homes, potential savings could reach $170,862. The funding is expected to help unlock 36,372 homes across Essex County, according to the governments of Ontario and Canada. The figure represents potential housing enabled by the cost savings and infrastructure investment, rather than a guarantee those homes will be built. “This funding is great news for both Essex County and for the families hoping to call it home,” said Melissa Schenk, CEO of the Windsor-Essex Home Builders’ Association. “Reducing development charges is about making it possible to get more homes built, at prices more families can afford.” Essex County CAO Sandra Zwiers said the county’s share of up to $51.2 million will help advance road infrastructure projects intended to address congestion and open up land for housing. “These funds will help us advance those projects sooner than our funding would have normally allowed,” Zwiers said. She said design and engineering work is already underway on several projects, with construction on roadway projects hoped to begin next year. Zwiers pointed to roadways in and around Tecumseh and Lakeshore, including areas near County roads 19, 22, and 42, as examples of infrastructure work intended to support growth. She said the county is eliminating its development charges for all housing types in 2026 and 2027, before phasing in reductions of 75 per cent in 2028, 50 per cent in 2029, and 25 per cent in 2030. The county’s approach extends beyond the program’s minimum three-year eligibility period. Local municipalities make their own decisions on development charge reductions, Zwiers said, with some participating in the program and others not. The funding allocations include up to $25.4 million for LaSalle, which is eliminating development charges for all housing types from March 30, 2026, to March 31, 2029. The allocation includes infrastructure in the Reaume Sanitary Service Area. The Town of Essex is eligible for up to $8.8 million, Lakeshore up to $11.8 million, and Kingsville up to $8.4 million. Those municipalities are reducing development charges by 50 per cent for all housing types over the same three-year period. Municipalities must contribute at least 10 per cent of project costs. The funding remains subject to further government reviews, agreements, and program requirements. Rob Flack, Ontario’s minister of municipal affairs and housing, said growing communities need critical infrastructure to support housing of all types. “Together, we’re providing growing municipalities with the funding they need to ensure their communities remain a desirable place to live, work, and raise a family,” Flack said. The announcement followed a separate funding announcement Friday for Windsor and Tecumseh, which are eligible to receive up to $84.4 million through the same program. Windsor is reducing development charges by 70 per cent, while Tecumseh is reducing them by 50 per cent. The federal and provincial governments agreed in March to provide a combined $8.8 billion over 10 years for infrastructure investments in Ontario, with federal funding flowing through the Build Communities Strong Fund.
